The Chilean Public Health Institute (ISP) is evaluating the sanitary registration of the Argentine drug Convupidiol, which is based on cannabidiol (CBD), a substance found in the cannabis sativa plant.
The drug Convupidiol is used in the treatment of children with refractory epilepsy, one in which the seizures persist despite receiving treatment with at least two or three drugs. Since Convupidiol is based on CBD, it is non-psychoactive and has a broader medical scope.
In Argentina, its country of origin, its use was authorized in 2020, by the simile of the ISP in that country, the National Administration of Medicines, Food and Medical Technology (ANMAT).
The drug has been successful in Argentina, being even recommended by pediatricians, since its oral solution is used to treat seizures associated with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome or Dravet syndrome in children older than two years. It is also used in other countries to treat tuberous sclerosis, a rare genetic disorder that causes non-cancerous tumors to form in many parts of the body.